Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Festival: Sky Spectacular

I am a pilot of 15 years and have been going to Balloon Fiesta since 1998. The last 4 years I have been a sponsor with my company TBC General Contracting. Every year the people behind the scenes at Balloon Fiesta office make the sponsorship process smooth and very beneficial to get my company name out. This year in particular Barb and Kathy were extremely helpful as the week went on with accommodating my needs and taking care of all the people that went to the hospitality tent. If you're thinking about going to this event, it is world-class. My only suggestion would be that you plan at least three to four days on the ground because weather can sometimes keep the balloons grounded. Thanks again everybody at Balloon Fiesta office, Jennifer, Stephanie, and especially Barb and Kathy, another amazing week in the history books.

Bucket list event. Kids can collect trading cards from each of the hot air balloonists and occasionally a pin. Couldn't believe no extra costs after affordable park and ride tickets. Get there very early. Lines to get on busses are LONG, like 1.5 hours even when leaving the balloon rally. Go to a morning launch and an evening glow. Carnival food, good lemonade. Drone show was neat. Fireworks were great. Can skip official gear tent, line to get in and you can buy similar things at the Albuquerque airport.

Book your hotel as early as possible. check into the museum's glamping sites & get the museum membership NOW & get on their newsletter list. Volunteer one or two days if you can. Pins go on sale at the separate shop a day or so early & if you're a day early, see if you can volunteer or just walk down there, you get to know where everything is. See if you can get an event map early. Spend a day at the museum & really look through, read everything, play the board game & see the films. The museum has special member prices for extra events & special seating. Buy ASAP as those are gold & sell out super fast. The morning of, either get an uber/lyft ( arrange well in advance) if possible. Either way, get there 2 hours early as during the last 45 mins prior to takeoff, traffic is unbelievably packed & at a virtual standstill. You will miss most of it & be taking photos through your grimy windscreen. If you drive, get the best & closest parking lot, as it's miserable trudging back through afterwards. Food is OK but eat up beforehand & check where the far ( & less used) toilets are. Go before you have to go as lines... The military & educational tents have loads of freebies for adults & children so go there right after the lift offs before they run out, first day if possible. Pins are competitive, like Disney pins, buy up! Evenings are fabulous! It's a truly magical experience so put your time & money in the right places so nothing detracts from the experience. Congrats!

I was surprised that the same week I was in town they had this festival. I had a really hard time finding the parking lot but after talking to a police officer two times he finally got me into the right road. When I got there it was a nice walk, but nothing hard. I was in total amazement when I saw all the balloons and how close you come to them. Plus they had over 400 different balloons that had to go a mile away and come back to drop a ball onto a x on the field. Surprised most of the came so close. I always thought they go out have a chase crew following them and when they were in a place to land they would pick them up. But these guys flew out came back and landed where they wanted to.

October 5, 2024 - Magical 9 day event . . . Add it to your “ Bucket List” 😃👍🏼❤️ WOW! We bussed in from Maryland , to spend 2 sessions over 2 days ! ( good tip, in case of high wind or rain. . . Balloons won’t lift off) Morning session is before Sunrise to noon! Evening session is 3pm to 9 pm . . . Buy tickets for a session ! Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta started 1972, over 50 years growing to 600 balloons of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Over 30 balloons sponsored by different countries! It’s pricey, worth it! You can bring in food & beverages to save money. ( No alcohol) The Balloon Park is 365 acres . . . It’s big! People buy their tickets, enter the park, and walk around on the field to meet the balloon crews as they set up their hot air balloons! Near the Main Stage folks watch the color flag flying. . . If it’s Red, no lift off! If the flag is YELLOW, it’s caution ⚠️ must wait for weather to stabilize ( winds to calm, under 10 m.p.h.) The GREEN flag means LIFT off ! As you walk around you’ll notice merchandise tents , where you can shop! You’ll also notice corporate sponsors that restrict entrance to special visitors/members of that organization. You might notice the Gondola Club, or Chaser’s Club . . . Big tents that cater food, beverages, and merchandise to clients who buy advance tickets. Our bus group paid $130 a ticket to the Gondola Club. They catered a nice breakfast with morning cocktails on our 1st day/ morning session to see lift off on October 5th! Our bus group also purchased tickets for an evening session at the Gondola Club. They catered a wonderful BBQ menu with salad and pulled pork . Then we watched at dusk, an evening glow burn 🔥 of 20 balloons! Followed by fireworks & Drone Laser show! Amazing the synchronized patterns of the drones in colorful formations! 😃👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Over a million visitors attend these 9 days of events. Well organized venue , with 5 locations to purchase shuttle bus transportation to the Fiesta Balloon Park. Get use to portable Potties! My highlight was talking to some of the balloon crews as they readied their equipment. They offered small color cards of their balloon, like baseball trading cards! In the past pins were given & collected. I saw several older folks with their jackets stacked & packed with different balloon pins! A great tradition, that I hope continues through the years😃👍🏼